HISD trustees dance around ‘elephant in the room’

A divided Houston school on Thursday rejected a policy (starts on p. 198) that would govern the district’s magnet program after some trustees said they were surprised by last-minute changes.

But the trustees voted unanimously to bring back a new policy in 30 days after delaying action on the hot-button issue for months.

“We’ve got real issues with magnet schools in this district,” Houston Independent School District Superintendent Terry Grier told the board. “Everyone knows it. It’s the elephant in the room.”

The version of the policy released last week did not make major changes to the magnet program but said under-performing schools would be at risk of losing their status. It also said middle and high schools could continue to set their own entrance criteria for their magnet programs.

The new policy said the admissions requirements would be based on the magnet themes — which indicates that principals couldn’t set their own standards.

Other changes were unclear Thursday night even to some board members. Trustee Mike Lunceford said he could not immediately tell what was different because the revisions weren’t highlighted, while Juliet Stipeche noted that the board didn’t get copies of the new policy until Tuesday afternoon.

When trustee Larry Marshall asked Grier for an explanation, Grier responded, “I’m not sure where we are. We don’t seem to be able to find a direction as a team.”

Marshall then lashed out at his colleagues, criticizing “erratic attendance” that has delayed conversations on magnet schools and accusing them of micromanagement. “This board is too intrusive,” he said. “You’re too picky and you’re majoring in minutia.”

Trustee Anna Eastman, after praising Marshall for his stellar attendance and noting that she, too, doesn’t miss meetings, said she wanted to complete the magnet policy but believed it still needed more work.

“I don’t think it stops the work that happens in our schools with kids if we don’t do it tonight,” Eastman said.

Although trustees couldn’t agree on the policy, they did vote 7-1 to start a new Vanguard magnet serving gifted students at Black Middle School. Trustee Rodriguez opposed the decision.

Meyers had urged the board to delay a vote on Black Middle School so Grier’s administration could return with a district-wide plan for magnet schools, but his motion failed. Some trustees questioned the fairness of starting a new program at Black when other schools also want the same.